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February 3, 2006

Coretta Scott King was a vocal supporter
of LGBT rights

by Anthony Glassman

Atlanta, Ga.--Coretta Scott King, the widow of slain civil rights
leader Martin Luther King, Jr., passed away on January 30 at a hospital
in Mexico. She was 78.

King, already in declining health following a heart attack and a stroke
in late summer, was battling ovarian cancer.

While first known as the wife of the charismatic and influential Dr.
King, and still thought of primarily in regards to race, Coretta Scott
King was a vocal supporter of LGBT civil rights, representing both herself
and her husband�s legacy.

When anti-gay forces trying to repeal Miami-Dade County�s equal rights
law in 2002 sent out a flier saying that Martin Luther King, Jr. would
be outraged at its gay-inclusive nature, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center
for Nonviolent Change intervened, issuing statements arguing that the
flier dissembled.

�I appeal to everybody who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.�s dream
to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbians and
gay people,� she said on August 1, 2002.

While establishing the King Center as the home of the largest collection
of King�s writings and personal papers, Coretta Scott King also fought
tooth and nail to carry on his legacy, repeatedly invoking his statement,
�Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.�

Her position often put her at odds with both her niece and her youngest
daughter, both of whom have taken stands opposed to LGBT civil rights
and marriage rights.

While her niece, Alveda Celeste King, in 1997 said, �To equate homosexuality
with race is to give a death sentence to civil rights. No one is enslaving
homosexuals . . . or making them sit in the back of the
bus,� Mrs. King had come out three years earlier in support of the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act.

At the time, she noted, �Like Martin, I don�t believe you can stand for
freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.�

She quoted her husband, �I have worked too long and hard against segregated
public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice
is indivisible.�

In 2003, Mrs. King personally invited LGBT groups to participate in the
40th anniversary of the March on Washington where her late husband gave
his �I have a dream� speech, one of the defining moments in the civil
rights struggles of the 20th century.

�Coretta Scott King�s legacy is really one of inclusion: a celebration
of life under an ever-expanding big tent with room for all types of Americans,�
said Ted Jackson, president of the Greater Cincinnati Log Cabin Republicans.
�We are thankful for her unchanging commitment to fairness.�

�Once in a lifetime, God grants us with the ability to witness an extraordinary
life dedicated to justice,� said Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese.
�With Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., God smiled on
us and fortunately granted us two.�

�Coretta Scott King was one woman who shared a great dream and a great
vision with an extraordinaryman. This couple helped
to awaken the conscience of a nation. It is this indomitable spirit that
will continue to motivate those who strive for equal rights for all and
fairness for all families,� said H. Alexander Robinson, executive director
of the National Black Justice Coalition.

�The death of Mrs. King, while it�s a sad day, we can celebrate the life
she lived,� said Derek Barnett, board president of Cleveland�s BlackOut
Unlimited. �One of the outstanding things about Mrs. King was that she
recognized that all people, whether man or woman, black or white, gay
or straight, were entitled to civil rights. We will certainly miss that.�